Dozens kidnapped in northwest Nigeria after bandits invite them to talks

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By Reuters and Posted by TOE Armed bandits in northwest Nigeria abducted dozens of villagers whom they invited to a meeting ‌about potential peace negotiations, authorities and residents said on ‌Monday, highlighting the region’s worsening security. Police said 39 people were seized on Sunday ​when they went to a meeting in the forest near Magamin Diddi village in the Maradun municipality of northwest Zamfara State. Some local residents and officials said the number could be as ‌high as 50. According to ⁠a Zamfara State Police Command statement, the victims were meeting relatives of a bandit leader in ⁠an attempt to broker peace and ease restrictions on movement imposed on the community. Zamfara is at the centre of a long-running security ​crisis in ​which armed groups, locally referred ​to as bandits, carry ‌out mass kidnappings, killings and village raids. The violence has disrupted farming and displaced thousands. Security forces have deployed personnel and...
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Death toll in flood-hit South African province rises to 49

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The death toll from floods in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province has risen to 49, the head of the province said on Wednesday.

Parts of South Africa have been lashed by heavy rain and snow since the weekend, in a severe winter cold front that has disrupted transport and power networks.

“The status has escalated to 49 (deaths),” Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane told a press conference.

Flooding in Cape Town

Earlier, a school bus was swept away by floods near Mthatha and a provincial safety official said eight bodies were recovered.

Mabuyane said the report he had received said six people on the bus had been discovered dead and four were still missing. The vehicle had been carrying 13 schoolchildren and two adults.

Flooding has become more common and severe in South Africa as the impacts of climate change are felt.

A storm on the East Coast in April 2022 killed about 400 people and left thousands homeless.

SOURCE: REUTERS AND AGENCIES



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/g0b4uBZ

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